Monday, 30 September 2013

Grace Young thought she was a survivor - until the day her twin brother died, leaving her parents heartbroken and their relationship with Grace fractured beyond repair. Now all Grace wants is a chance to experience something of a normal life, before it's all too late.

Going to college hundreds of miles from home seems like the right way to embrace her new found freedom, especially after years of homeschooling, but while Grace takes to her classes naturally, it's the other side of college that she's unprepared for.

The parties. The friendships. The boys. Especially one Dean Michaels, the Haven University's star soccer player. Fate throws the pair together, and their friendship starts to turn into something more. But can Grace keep the secrets of her past hidden without hurting those she's come to count on the most?

Liz Hannah is a New Adult author that calls both
Scotland and Australia home. Currently studying her Bachelor of Arts at
university, when she’s not busy reading or writing, Liz can be found
procrastinating from her studies indulging in her Pinterest habit or watching
too many TV shows. Lost Without You
is her debut New Adult novel.

Sunday, 29 September 2013

When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But her plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a rich prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.

Jade tries to push him away, but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.

As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.

He puts his phone away. “Can
I come in? I’m kind of a target out here in the hall.”

“A target for what?” I ask,
moving aside to let him in.

“Girls fondling me.” A smirk
crosses his face as he waits for my reaction.

“Please tell me you’re
kidding. Because if you’re not, then I need to start upping the insults again
to bring you back down to earth.”

He’s trying hard to keep a
straight face. “You saw Ava just now. Girls just can’t help themselves. What
can I say?”

I shake my head and start
rummaging through my drawer for a shirt. “I
can help myself. I’m completely immune to whatever you think you’ve got going
on over there.”

“Yeah, I know,” he mumbles.
“You need some help?”

“Why? You think I can’t
dress myself?”

He stands next to me,
staring down at the open drawer. “Everything in here is black.”

“Yeah.” I close the drawer
and open the one beneath it. “And everything in here is white.”

“Where are your other
shirts?”

“That’s it. Well, I have a
few in the closet.”

He walks over to look. “You
only wear black or white?”

“Uh, yeah. Are you just
getting that? You’ve seen me how many times and you’ve never noticed that?”

“Huh. I guess not.”

“It’s just easier that way.
Black and white go with everything.” I take a black t-shirt from the drawer.

“You should wear purple
sometime.”

I almost choke laughing.
“Purple? Are you joking?”

“What’s wrong with purple?”

“I’ve never worn anything
purple in my life. I’ve never even considered it. It’s one of those weird
colors that old ladies wear.”

“Lots of people wear purple.
And with your green eyes, you would look great in purple.”

“I hate my green eyes. The
last thing I want to do is draw attention to them.”

He comes closer and lifts my
chin up with his hand. “How could you hate your eyes? They’re the most
beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. Why do you think I’m always staring at them?”

“Yeah, that’s hilarious.” I
push him back. “Now get out of here so I can change. Wait in the hall. I’ll be
like two seconds.”

“Jade, you know I’m not safe
out there.” He says it as if he’s really in danger. “Did you see all those
girls running around in towels and robes?”

I roll my eyes. “I swear.
The insults are coming, my friend. So tell your ego to get ready.”

He stands there.

“You’re really not leaving?
Fine. Then turn around.”

I change into my jeans and
black shirt. “Okay, I’m done.”

He inspects me. “Yeah. You
definitely need some color. The black and white thing is getting old.”

“Well, I’m not planning on
buying new clothes so you’ll have to get over it.” I search through my desk
drawer for money. “How much are movie tickets? I haven’t been to a movie in
years, so I have no clue. Six bucks? Seven?”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s
go.”

“Garret, you’re not paying.”

“You just saved me from being man-handled by
Ava. That’s at least worth the price of a movie ticket. Maybe even some
popcorn, too.”

------

AUTHOR BIO:

Allie Everhart writes about dating, love, and romance. She’s also a freelance writer for magazines and websites. Before freelancing, she was a book editor for a publishing company where she worked on several NYT bestselling nonfiction books. She loves to read as much as she loves to write. And when she’s not reading or writing, she’s outside running, which is when she gets her best book ideas.

Ness’s parents are shocked when she turns down her place at Leeds University and takes on a full-time job in a call center. Determined to begin her adult life the way she wants, Ness moves to Leeds to live with her best friend Abby.

One night she meets Evan, who is everything she hates about guys. He may be hot but he’s also drunken, arrogant, and on top of that, he apparently has sex with girls and forgets about it. But Evan isn’t what he seems and Ness soon discovers they have more in common than she thought.

Evan is struggling to escape from his past too, and when Lucy appears she threatens his new relationship with Ness. Unsure if she can deal with the effect Lucy has on Evan, Ness makes a decision about her future which pulls them apart.

When their new lives don’t go as planned, Ness and Evan are both faced with difficult choices. All because of Lucy…

I
side step the sink and turn. A guy leans against the doorframe, trying to
appear nonchalant but his slackened stance indicates he’s attempting to keep
himself upright. His brown hair is longer at the front and spills into his
face, and unfocused brown eyes appear to be looking in my direction. He’s one
of the regulars. I don’t pay a lot of attention, but he’s a good-looking guy
and they never go unnoticed.

“Yes?”
I snap. I’m so not in the mood.

His
eyes sweep my figure. Unbelievable... I straighten my sleeves and look at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Are
you Abby’s housemate?”

“Who
are you?”

“Evan.”
He rubs his nose. “You’re not a student?”

“Correct,
I am the one not lying in a drunken haze on the floor contemplating my navel.”

Evan
takes a step forward, steadying himself with one hand as my witty repartee
sails over his head. “Why?”

“Why
am I not on the floor pissed?”

“Why
aren’t you a student?”

“Because
I work instead.”

“Hmm.”
He pauses and grasps onto the sink, searching for a glass. I pass him the spare
one. “Did you fail?”

“Fail what?”

Evan
fills the glass. “Or are you just not smart enough for uni? What is it you do?”
He gulps the water in three mouthfuls then wipes his mouth with his hand.

Arrogant
wanker.

“That’s
right, I’m not smart enough. I’m living with Abby until I can find a nice man
to marry then I can have 2.4 kids and a house in the suburbs. Because, as I’m
not a student, I have no future.”

Evan
leans against the sink. “Fair enough.”

Oh
my god he believes me. How pissed is he exactly? “So, you think anyone who
doesn’t go to university is inferior to you?” I demand.

I’ve
seen her friends looking down their noses at me. Inverted snobbery. On top of
that, the locals hate students and the students hate locals. I’m neither. I
can’t win.

We’re
close now and he stinks of alcohol and pot, a faint hint of deodorant lingering
on his clothes. Evan’s T-shirt has come untucked and rides up as he leans
against the sink. He’s toned, evidently works out. I can’t help myself, I check
him out. Beneath his curls he has deep brown eyes. Incoherent eyes. I hate to
admit, but something about him is seriously sexy.

Even
if he is a dick.

“Well,
if you’ll excuse me,” I say.

He
sniggers.

“What’s
funny?”

“You
sound like the Queen.”

Not
this again. I get enough crap at work. I move from Cheltenham to Yorkshire and
suddenly I’m ‘stuck up home counties girl’.

I
don’t dignify his comment with an answer and turn away from him, and walk out
of the kitchen.

“Want
me to get the guy out of your bed?” he calls after me.

I
stop and look round. “You know him?”

“I
could replace him.”

My
mouth drops open at his arrogance. An attempt at a flirtatious smile plays
around his lips but the unfocused eyes kill the effect he’s trying to achieve.
He’s serious. I imagine he has a ready supply of eager girls. No surprise with
a body and looks like his, such a shame he needs a personality transplant.

I
step towards him. “Evan. I am not pissed. Nor are you getting into my bed. Good
night.”

It’s
a good thing that I’m sober otherwise I’d go back there and punch him.

------

AUTHOR BIO:

Lisa is originally from the UK but now lives in Perth, Western Australia. She splits her time between writing, raising a family and running a business. She even leaves the house occasionally.

Lisa writes romance and is currently working on a series of new adult paranormal romance novels, the first book, Soul Ties, was published in July 2013. She also writes new adult contemporary - Because of Lucy was released August 2013.

While darkness haunts her, she craves the light. Christina is a demon, but she doesn't want to be. She is willing to sacrifice everything to change it. Only one person stands in her way, and he will stop at nothing to keep her the way she is.

The greatest battle of light vs dark threatens every living creature, a battle that could destroy all. And the demon in love will only have one chance to save everyone.

About the Author:

Konstanz Silverbow has always been a dreamer . . . but not a writer. Being an author was something she was dragged into. But since that day, she hasn't stopped. It has become more than a hobby, it is a passion.

During the day Konstanz works, making jewelry, playing the violin, collecting dragons, and learning all she can about medieval weapons. But at night she creates made up worlds and places where those dragons come to life and the weapons are used in battle."

Angelle Prejean is in a pickle. Her family is expecting her to come home with a fiancé—a fiancé who doesn’t exist. Well, he exists, but he definitely has no idea Angelle told her mama they were engaged. Tattooed, muscled, and hotter than sin, Cane can reduce Angelle to a hot mess with one look—and leave her heart a mess if she falls for him. But when she ends up winning Cane at a charity bachelor auction, she knows just how to solve her fiancé problem.Cane Robicheaux is no one’s prince. He doesn’t do relationships and he doesn’t fall in love. When sweet, sultry-voiced Angelle propositions him, he hopes their little game can finally get her out of his head. He doesn’t expect her to break through all his barriers. But even as Angelle burrows deeper into his heart, he knows once their seven days are up, so is their ruse.

Pre-Order Buy Links:

Excerpt:

Angelle stopped
beside a folding table boasting boxes of fresh, crispy cracklins and selected a
thick piece. Cane watched, mesmerized, as she puckered those gorgeous lips and
blew on the sliver. With a flirtatious glint in her eyes, she held it up to his
mouth, and he opened.

Holy crap.

He’d had
cracklins before. Fried pork fat was a standard gas station treat, usually
shrink-wrapped and stale as shit. But this, fresh from the pot and piping hot,
was unbelievable. Cane widened his eyes, and it was possible he even moaned. It
was thatgood. And as he swallowed, Angel rewarded him with a rich,
throaty laugh.

“Ca c’est bon?”
she asked, grinning when he grabbed another handful.

He touched her
nose and popped a piece in his mouth. “Good would be an understatement.”

Grinning, she
took a fried morsel for herself and sent the balding, overweight gentleman
tending the table a wink. “Now that’s what we like to hear.” Then she closed
her eyes as she savored the treat.

The sounds of
Angel moaning, and watching her face soften in the throes of a foodgasm, had to
be the sexiest damn thing Cane had ever seen. His pants tightened,
embarrassingly so considering he knew the audience was still watching, but what
pushed him over the edge was when her eyes opened. The pleasure in them was his
undoing.

Feeling the
weight of the crowd’s disapproving stares and not giving a damn, figuring now
was as good a time as any to give the people the show they clearly wanted, he
grasped her hip and tugged her forward, pausing only to inhale her gasp of
surprise before brushing her mouth with his.

It was like
setting off a damn forest fire.

Angelle, his
shocking little hellcat, pounced. Forgetting all about their audience, or maybe
not giving a damn either, she wound her arms around his neck, lifted onto her
toes, and kissed him back with everything she had. Cane had intended to steal a
quick taste, take the edge off his craving for her, and prove their point with
the town’s people. But hell if he was gonna be the one to back down now.
Tightening his grasp on her slim hips, he brushed his thumbs across the smooth,
exposed skin near her waistband. He deepened the kiss, thrilling over her
telltale shiver. Whimpering, she yanked on the hair at his nape and sucked his
bottom lip into her mouth. Hot damn.

Okay, now he
had to start backing down. With all her male relatives watching, not to mention
the knives and axes still lying around from the butchering earlier, if Cane
valued his life, he needed to wrangle control of the situation. He’d heard
patience was a virtue. That was a line of bull—he’d always sucked at waiting
for anything he wanted. But for Angel, he was willing to try.

Loosening his
grip on her belt loops, Cane slowed the intensity of the kiss. He smoothed the
hem of her shirt down, grazed her lips one last time, and, placing his forehead
against hers, inhaled through his nose. Sunflowers mixed with cayenne may be
his new favorite scent. Angelle released a heavy breath, a flush blooming on
her cheeks. She darted a glance at the crowd, then looking into his eyes,
grinned lazily. “My goodness. If anyone doubted we were a couple before, I
guess that showed them.”

About the Author

I grew up in New Orleans, where I watched soap operas with my grandmother and stayed up late sneak reading my mama’s favorite romance novels. Now a Cajun cowgirl living in Houston, I still stay up way too late reading my favorite romances, only now, I can do so openly. I firmly believe life’s problems can be solved with a hot, powdered-sugar-coated beignet or a thick slice of king cake, and that screaming at strangers for cheap, plastic beads is acceptable behavior in certain situations.

When not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, I homeschool my two beautiful girls and watch reality television with my amazing husband.

I write YA, NA, and Adult Fun & Flirty Escapes. Taste The Heat is my adult romance debut, and I'm also the author of MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY and A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES, as well as a ton of other books to come. I love hearing from readers and dishing books!

Thursday, 26 September 2013

“You don’t have to choose. You can be both. The girl with the charm, the girl without. They both suit you.”

Caris Harper lives a charmed life. Literally.

When her dad offers to take her to the Emerald coast of Florida for summer vacation, Caris jumps at the chance. The chance to get answers to questions she’s always been too afraid to ask. The chance to be normal. Isn’t that what her dreams have been telling her, that here in the place of her birth she can be normal? But from the first moment the wind caresses her face and the sun touches her skin, the charm begins to fade, revealing a girl Caris never knew existed, one that is anything but normal. The long-buried Song that awakens is only the beginning of a transformation that will challenge her ideas about loyalty and family.

Noah Jacobs is a waterbreather—a species of human fully adaptable to life in the water. Like his older brother Jamie, Noah wants to prove they can use their abilities and be heroes in service to their country. When a simple mission goes wrong and Jamie goes missing, Noah exiles himself to the Deep in a desperate search. MIA is a classification Noah is not ready to accept. But instinct can’t be ignored. Not when he hears her Song. Caris is not what he expects and Noah is determined to get her out of his head. Instead he finds himself acting as her mentor and the more time they spend together, the more Noah realizes he just wants Caris.

When a startling truth threatens their newly formed trust, Noah straddles the line between love and obsession while Caris struggles to find a balance between the girl she thought she was and the young woman she wants to be.

All my life I wanted to be like my mother,
hoped I was like her. And now that I knew I was, the knowledge felt like a
burden instead of a blessing. A dream turned nightmare.

As I stood on the beach, a few yards away
from where the foamy waves rushed over the sand, I wished it weren’t true.
Maybe my dad was wrong. Maybe my mother had been wrong.

My hope was dashed as soon as the Song
came, easy and instinctive. Echoes built and swirled in my head like the
breaking of so many waves. I felt the purpose of this Song in a way I hadn’t
felt before. I recognized it for what it was now. What before had come as the
result of wayward thought, produced by uncontrolled feelings, now came with a
violent edge.

A command.

A part of me prayed he wouldn’t answer,
that he wouldn’t succumb to the power even as it seemed to fill me with a sense
of vitality.

Minutes later, Noah emerged from the surf,
surrounded by the foamy break. He radiated power. Somewhere in the fog of my
mind, I remembered his strong arms wrapped around me as he wrestled me from the
force that held me to the bottom of the ocean. Was it because I knew what he
was that I could see him so clearly, or was it that he no longer had to hide
that part of himself from me? Did we all wear a charm of some sort? All I knew
for sure was that no mere human had eyes like that. No mere human moved with
such graceful strength as though he commanded the water itself.

Our eyes locked and held. We circled each
other with wary steps. This wasn’t the same boy I’d rescued from a pack of
bullies. This boy was wild, defiant and snarling silently, caught in this
invisible trap of my Song.

Where did we stand? Yesterday I would have
said we were friends. Now I didn’t know. He stopped an arms length away. Was he
afraid to come closer? No wonder he had looked at me with such animosity
before. He didn’t like it, having to come when I called. But despite that,
despite what my dad had told me about my real father hurting my mother, I
couldn’t believe that Noah would hurt me. I told him that day he’d rescued me
from a pool of horseshoe crabs that he wouldn’t hurt me and I still believed
that. Maybe even more now.

“Are you afraid of me now?” I would be
lying if I said I didn’t feel a sense of empowerment, a tiny thrill that he was
here only because I’d asked him to come with just a thought.

“No.” As if to prove it, he closed the
space between us with one long stride, eyes intent, bold as they raked over me.
I had discarded my dad’s t-shirt, eager to feel the wind on my skin, the spray
from the surf. I wore my bikini top and bottoms, but I might as well have been
naked the way Noah looked at me. Noah’s bare chest glistened with moisture and
I had the absurd thought to rub up against him, let that moisture soak into my
skin. Something must have shone on my face, some yearning I couldn’t name,
because he shook his head and tiny drops of water rained down on me. I massaged
them into my arms, let them drip down my face, craving more. They sang through
my blood and every nerve ending in my body responded. Even my scalp tingled.

His eyes scoured my face, questions
swimming in the green depths. But he also looked as if he too had no idea what
happened next.

“How long have you known?” I couldn’t
quite keep the edge out of my voice. The accusation. I knew this wasn’t his
fault. The fault lie with my dad, but still, he had been keeping this from me.
He should have told me.

“Since the first day I saw you.”

“The day behind the shops when Jax took
your hair?” How had they done it? Cornered and trapped him like that? It didn’t
seem possible, even though there had been three of them.

“No.” He averted his eyes. I watched his
throat move as he swallowed. “Before that.”

Realization dawned. My first night here,
when the water grabbed at me. I remembered the swell I’d felt in my chest, the
Song that had burst through my head almost without me knowing.

I called him that first day, and he’d
come, not knowing who I was. I didn’t want that kind of power over him. Yet,
here he stood.

“Why you? I mean, there are others like
you…” I gulped, still barely able to grasp the idea of another species, even
with the proof of it standing in front of me. The proof of it humming under my
skin. I still felt human enough, but Noah was definitely more. So
unquestioningly, obviously more. “Like us. Why you?”

“I don’t know.” He said the words almost
like a tired sigh, as though it was an unanswered question he’d asked himself
over and over.

“So, we’re not really friends. It’s just
this…” I waved my hand between us, not knowing what to call this connection we
shared.

“I can’t speak for you, but I am your
friend, Caris. I will always be that.”

My throat tightened and I looked away, not
wanting him to see how his words affected me. They soothed the raw edge of my
raging emotions. Grounded me to center when everything felt like it was
spiraling out of my control. “You must hate me.”

His arm slipped around my waist and I was drawn into his chest. “If I only have this one night with you, the last thing I’m going to do is stay away.”

Kia Valentines had always accepted the fact that she was a nerd, a nobody. It was a badge she wore with honor, until the day she saved Claudia DeLorenzo’s life and lost herself.

When offered the chance to shed her identity for a single night, Kia never believed it would change her life. It was one night. It meant nothing, or it shouldn't have. But that single night turned out to be her undoing when she finds passion in the arms of the one person she can never have.

Adam Chaves was more than just a gorgeous face, he made her laugh, but more importantly, when he looked at her, she felt like the most beautiful girl on earth. But Adam has no idea that Kia was the girl behind the mask and Kia has no intention of telling him. But a secret could only be kept if no one else knows about it. Claudia knows and she wants something Kia isn't willing to give in order to keep it.

Will Kia succumb? And just how far is Claudia willing to go to get what she wants?

EXCERPT:

“She’s talked about you, but she never warned
me just how dangerous you were.”

Somehow,
I really doubted he meant in a Charlie’s
Angels, sexy in tights kind of way. “I am not dangerous!”

His
brow lifted as his gaze darted to the binder drip drying in the sink. “Could
have fooled me.”

This
was so not the way I wanted him to remember me, like some clumsy whack job with
balance issues. “Those were accidents.”

“And
the restaurant?”

“Accident!”
I was sticking to that story if it killed me.

The
corner of his lips twitched. “Sure thing, nena.”

“Kia,”
I corrected him. “My name—”

“I
know,” he said. “I haven’t forgotten.”

Right.
“You just called me Nena.” Yeah, I was so not impressed.

He
rolled a pink tongue over his teeth. “It means baby in Spanish.”

Baby? He called me baby?
Wait, what kind of baby? The hot, seductive sort or the, you need a diaper
change sort?

He
laughed. “Do you always think so hard?”

“Yes,”
I said automatically. “I think. I’m a thinker.”

“Interesting.”

I
frowned. “Why?” Better yet… “How?”

He
grinned. “I’m a doer.”

5/5

I think this is my favourite book by Airicka that I have read so far. It was just brilliant! I utterly and truly loved it!

I loved every single thing about this book but I especially loved Kia. Without a doubt my favourite character of Airicka's. She has such a great sarcastic wit. Nearly everything she said had me laughing out loud. Right from the first page I was highlighting sentences that I loved. But bless her soul she is such a klutz I think that just made me love her more though. Can I be friends with her? Pretty please? I related with her so much. I know how it feels to feel like you don't fit in or that the guy you like won't like you for you. I empathized with her and I got why she felt like she had to change her appearance. What surprised me though was how she dealt with certain situations. I wasn't expecting her to be so spunky. I doubly loved this about her. At one point I almost shouted out loud "You go girl!".

The love interest, Adam, I also loved. Swoon personified right there. He was such a great character. Him and Kia just fit. They are perfect for each other.

I have two complaints however. It was waaaay too short!! I never wanted it to end!! I was so sucked in I finished it in no time. I tried so hard to savor it and make it last as long as possible but I couldn't. I just had to know what was gonna happen next and before I knew it I was finished :(

My other complaint? The ending! Airicka how could you end it like that?! That's just cruel! If I bribe you with cookies will you give me the next book? ;)

Overall this is a fantastic book with a great message. It's about learning to love the real you, to be brave, and to take a shot at life. You never know what's waiting around the corner. I am eagerly awaiting book 2!

~~~~~~

About the Author:

Airicka Phoenix is the best-selling author of The Touch Saga, Games of Fire, Octavian's Undoing & The Lost Girl Series with short stories in Whispered Beginnings: A Clever Fiction Anthology and Midnight Surrender Anthology. She also writes adult paranormal & contemporary romance under her alter ego, Morgana Phoenix.

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2.5-3/5
I was really hoping to like this book. From the blurb it seemed like it would be really interesting. Sadly this turned out to be just an OK read, so I was disappointed :/
The big thing I didn't like about the book was the main c...

Oh Cassie Mae. You never cease to amaze me with your ability to turn me into a sap. This book was just too fickin CUTE! I had a grin plastered to my face like 90% of the time. I couldn't help myself. I loved every second of this book.
Th...

Also posted on: The Shadow Realm
What can I say about Darkness? This book was just everything I was hoping for and more. I didn't think I could fall any more in love with this series but I was wrong. My love grew tenfold with this book....